The Best Starfield Factions: Which should you join and why?

Starfield is filled with factions that control various parts of the Settled Systems. From the space pirates of the Crimson Fleet to the bastion of order in the United Colonies, many factions have contrasting perspectives.

Before committing to any specific Starfield group, you might want to knowthe most advantageous. After completing the first mission in Starfield, you are automatically anointed as a member of Constellation, though the rest of the factions will need to be voluntarily joined.

There are factions you cannot join, including House Va’ruun, the Enlightened, Ecliptic, and Spacers, which will often influence your playthrough.

All Starfield Factions you can choose from

There are five main factions that you can join:

• Crimson Fleet
• United Colonies
• Ryujin Industries
• Freestar Collective
• Constellation

You don’t need to make a choice of which faction to join in Starfield, as you can join every faction. Still, there are some that are considerably more advantageous at the beginning of your playthrough.

Each faction comes with its own missions, unlockable quests, rewards, and much more. It depends on what company you want to keep around in your playthrough and what rewards and quests align with your in-game purpose.

Let’s go through each faction to aid you in your choice, or simply show what each has to offer if you plan on joining them all!

The Crimson Fleet Faction in Starfield

Personally, I think that the Crimson Fleet is the best faction to join in Starfield. Going down this questline does not mean you need to become a space pirate, as you can always side with the UC System Defense. By joining this faction. you gain these rewards:

• 250,000 credits.
• One of the best ballistic weapons, the Revenant.
• Keelhauler, a devastatingly powerful pistol.
• Access to The Key.
• Safe travel through Crimson Fleet territory.

United Colonies Faction in Starfield

United Colonies faction or UC for short, is a political and military-based faction. They are the easiest and most linear faction to experience. UC is one of two of the first optional factions you will be introduced to in the game along with the Freestar Rangers.

These two groups are mortal enemies fresh from a devastating war, I highly recommend joining both. Here are the rewards you gain by joining the United Colonies Faction in Starfield:

• 250,000 credits.
• Access to the Vigilance.
• Approval of Constellation companions.
• UC Vanguard armor set.

Ryujin Industries Faction in Starfield

Ryujin is a great faction to join if you enjoy stealth play and a cyberpunk-themed aesthetic! The Manipulate Tool allows you to control NPCs around you and make them say what you want them to. It is a really useful reward. Here are the rewards you gain by joining the Ryujin Faction in Starfield:

• 57,050 credits.
• Manipulate Tool.

Freestar Collective Faction in Starfield

The Freestar Collective Faction love to enforce the law. They are met during the campaign and are found in the middle of cleaning up a bank heist. The quest is called Job Gone Wrong. If you enjoy a Wild West theme, Freestar Collective could be for you. Rewards for joining this faction are:

• 70,800 credits.
• Ranger Badge Justifier Pistol, a powerful revolver.
• Ranger Wear including apparel and armor.

Constellation Faction in Starfield

Constellation is the main faction Starfield. They hold the main questline for the story and possibly the most quests in any faction. Finishing the Constellation questline reaps no specific rewards, however, you do close out the main storyline and unlock New Game+.

Minor Starfield Factions

While these factions aren’t joinable with the exception of Ebbside Strikers, they can still influence your playthroughs. Players can still take part in missions and earn credits or loot.

• House Va’ruun – A group of zealots who form a cult in worship of a deity named the Great Serpent.
• Enlightened – An atheist humanitarian group.
• Ecliptic – These mercs are essentially space bounty hunters.
• Spacers – Independent criminals.
• Xenofresh Corporation – The large overseeing corporation that discovered the psychotropic qualities of the fish species of Neon.
• Sanctum Universum – A religious group based on the Church of the Universal.
• Ebbside Strikers – The newest of two gangs fighting for control over Neon. This Faction is joinable, but doesn’t add much.

What are the best factions in Starfield?

The Crimson Fleet is the best for the space pirate in you. The amount of fun quests, a whopping 250,000 credits, 2 legendary weapons and more was enough to make my decision. However, joining the Crimson Fleet does not bar you from joining other factions. That is the beauty of this game. It allows you to be loyal to one faction, or take everything you can from all factions.

All factions are very useful for making extra credits, gaining levels, and earning some unique rewards.

Though each faction contains its own storyline, your actions in these quest chains won’t affect the final outcome of Starfield’s main story. Still, you will be able to see the ramifications of your choices throughout the galaxy and spoken about among your fellow Constellation members.

Starfield Faction Rankings

1. Crimson Fleet
   • As mentioned above, the Crimson Fleet offers a fun time with legendary weapons and many credits along the way.
2. Constellation
   • Constellation offers the most XP and interesting characters that can be companions. Some of the companions can even be romanced.
3. Ryujin industries
   • Joining Ryujin delivers some of the best side quests in the game and even some helpful stealth mechanics as rewards.
4. Freestar Rangers
   • Space cowboys are a popular roleplay in Starfield and this one gives you just that while being very pliable for morally good character runs.
5. United Colonies Vanguard
   • This allows players to get an apartment in New Atlantis, plenty of credits, an excellent armor set, and a short, straightforward quest line.
6. Any of the minor factions
   • The factions are interchangeable in our opinion as none of them offer a ton in terms of perks or credits.